Day Tripping to the Thumb

My niece Sherrie and I had been up to Port Austin (at the tip of the thumb in our Great Lakes State...Michigan) once before, but it was to see the Northern Lights from the Dark Park, and so we decided a day trip was in order. We meandered the back roads and dirt roads, stopping when we saw something beautiful or interesting, a sign for the same!

It wasn't long before we did: a view of some clouds reflecting in a creek...so verdant & serene.

I was heading back to the car, happy we stopped, when it occurred to me to check out the view on the other side of the bridge, where I knew there would be no reflection because of the position of the sun, but still...why not check it out?

I was standing there for a bit, enjoying the peacefulness of the moment, when something caught my eye. A dog? No. A deer--a buck, just happily lying there on the bank of the creek. At one point, he had enough of my picture taking I guess, got up, and began running across the creek. Just before disappearing into the grass, though, he stopped and looked back at me. It was very touching...almost surreal, and a poem I had read a few months earlier came to me, "Let July Be July. Let August Be August' by Morgan Harper Nichols. It's a poem about growth, letting go, and trusting God's plan. For me, it completely seemed to fit this moment, as much as it had my life in general when I first discovered it. If you're interested in reading it, I put the poem, in its entirety, in the description box of the video below; I would love to know your thoughts.

After a bit of a drive, we stopped in Port Hope (love that name)! Sherrie's husband told us about a great place to stop for icecream: Chill Zone. SO delicious, and such huge portions without a huge pricetag. I would HIGHLY recommend a stop at Chill Zone if you're ever in Port Hope. This is their FB page: https://www.facebook.com/PortHopeChillZone

We managed to hit a couple garage sales (neither of us can resist them:) and took a stroll in a park along Lake Huron to work off some of that icecream. I smile now as I remember seeing a large patch of Milkweed from a distance and asked my niece, "Wouldn't it be amazing if we saw a Monarch in the milkweed?" and we DID. What a gift. Thanks God!

We saw a sign for Pointe Aux Baruques Lighthouse and made the detour because I can't resist a lighthouse. Living in Michigan is perfect for me because we have more lighthouses than any other state. #funfact

Click here for more interesting information

about one of Michigan's oldest lighthouses: https://pointeauxbarqueslighthouse.org/the-lighthouse

Our last stop before heading back home, was Port Crescent State Park. I am embarrassed to admit I didn't realize there wasn't a town here anymore, just the state park where it once was. I really want to go back and explore more though. I mean, I did walk quite a bit of that three mile shoreline, but there are several miles of hiking trails (Steel Bridge Trails --we only stopped long enough for a photo-op), a dark sky preserve, a raptor viewing platform, and even a restaurant called Dark Sky Lodge and Tavern. For more info: https://www.michigan.org/property/port-crescent-state-park

The was the very last picture I took and it was from the car, so it doesn't do it justice, but it was a special and lovely way to end our day.